Below The Beltway

After the polls showed him far behind challenger Ned Lamont, it was pretty much inevitable, but yesterday Senator Joe Lieberman was defeated in the Connecticut Democratic primary:

HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 8 — In a stark repudiation, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) narrowly lost the Democratic Senate primary here Tuesday night, falling to antiwar candidate Ned Lamont in a campaign that became a referendum on the incumbent’s support for the Iraq war.

Lieberman publicly conceded the primary shortly after 11 p.m., after a congratulatory call to Lamont. But he appeared almost exuberant in defeat, telling supporters at a hotel in Hartford that he planned to run as an independent in November and predicting that he would be returned to the Senate for a fourth term.

Lieberman, accused by many in his own party of being too accommodating to President Bush, also made it clear that he would try to make the general election a campaign about a tone and style of politics that he said has stalemated Washington and that he charged was at the heart of Lamont’s campaign.

“I am, of course, disappointed by the results, but I am not discouraged,” Lieberman said. “I’m disappointed not just because I lost but because the old politics of partisan polarization won today. For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand.”

Not surprisingly, the Kos-ites are crowing over this one, but not everyone is happy. Brendan Loy calls this the final straw and says he’s no longer a Democrat. At the same time, Don Surber says that conservatives should not be upset by Lieberman loss. What it shows to me is how little room for disagreement there is in the modern Democratic Party.

Previous Posts:

Lieberman Falling Further Behind
Lieberman Losing Ground
Senate Democrats Split Over Lieberman
Joe LIeberman?s Friends Continue To Show Their True Colors
Lieberman May Run As An Independent
With Friends Like These